


Day 16: Wild

by Magpie_Crow



Series: Inktober 2019 [16]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: But it's all I could think of, Goats, Honestly I Have No Clue What Happened Here, I'm not really proud of this one, my bad - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 06:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21049688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magpie_Crow/pseuds/Magpie_Crow
Summary: Single dad Dee Sanders and his brother Thomas find a feral child in the woods behind their farm. He's a handful, but nothing they can't manage, despite his claims of lycanthropy. However, is there more to 10-year-old Otto than meets the eye?





	Day 16: Wild

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know, my doods.

The boy stared up at the two men leaning over him, eyes wide and unblinking. 

“Hey, kid, are you okay?”

“Yeah. You have a scar on your face.”

“That’s true. Where are your parents?”

The boy shrugged. “Don’t have any. They got kil’t.” 

“Oh? When was this?”

“Years ago. The werewolves got ‘em. And me, too!” He bounced up off the ground, attempting to brush dirt off his ragged green shirt only to smear more on. 

The man with the scar looked at the other man. “What do you think we should do, Thomas?”

“Let’s take him back to the farm, clean him up a little. Then we can contact the police?”

“My name’s Otto. I’ve been living in these woods for forever!”

The man without the scar-Thomas?- ruffled Otto’s hair. “Well, you can come and live with us for a little while!”

Otto nodded, walking along behind them cheerily. 

~~ 

Otto- well, his real name was Remus, but he wasn’t telling strangers that, enjoyed living on the farm. Brothers Thomas and Dee Sanders had gotten so distracted by chasing after him that they never called the police the first night, and after that they just seemed to accept his presence. Dee’s son, Virgil, was a few years older than Remus’ ten, and great fun to scare.

“BOO!”

Virgil stumbled backwards, landing on his butt. “Otto! How long have you been hiding with the goats?”

“Long enough to get another hole in my shirt.” Remus stuck a finger through the new hole, wiggling it through the evidence of goat fashionistas. 

“If they get indigestion, I’m telling Dad it was your fault.”

Remus shrugged and left Virgil to do whatever it was that Virgil did in the barn. Something about milking the goats. Or watering the chickens. Or hoisting the mainsails. 

Dee was cooking, when he got back to the farmhouse. “Hey, Otto. Done pestering Virgil?”

Remus shrugged. “Might scare him again later. That’s what werewolves do.”

“Sure, kid. Do werewolves eat quiche for lunch?”

“Werewolves eat anything. Where’s Thomas?”

Dee gently set the filled pie tin in the oven. “He’s upstairs, napping. Don’t disturb him if you value your short life, Otto.

That was practically an invitation for Remus to go and jump on Thomas’ stomach.

~~

“And now for an update on the case of the missing ten-year-old, Remus Morai, from California. It has been three weeks since the boy went missing from his father’s front yard, and the police are still on the case. The boy’s father, uncle, and twin brother have all said that they will not be giving up on his safe return.”

Remus curled up tighter on the couch, the lights and volume low on the television so he wouldn’t wake up the Sanders’ family. 

“At a press conference earlier today, Patton Morai, the boy’s father, read a letter out pleading for the safety of his son. Here is a clip from that conference.”

He sat up a little straighter as the screen showed his father, looking a little thinner and a lot tired. 

“To whom it may concern. If you have my son… If you took my son- I know he’s more trouble than you thought he would be worth. Remus is a handful at the best of times and a hurricane at his worst. Please, if you bring him back to us, we’ll count your time with him as time served and won’t press charges.” Patton paused, and Remus tried to ignore the tear running down his cheek. “Remus, honey, if you left on your own… Sweetie, you don’t have to come back. We love you, and we miss you, but if you’re happier where you ended up, that’s okay. Just- just call us? Let us know you’re safe? Roman wants you to know that you might be a moron, but you’re _his_ moron and he’s worried for you.” 

His father looked straight at the camera, and Remus flinched at the raw anguish in his eyes. “You remember daddy’s number, Ree. Please let us know you’re safe.”

The newscaster was back on the screen. “Some people are questioning Mr. Morai’s decision to let his son stay away from the relative safety of his care, but others encourage him for allowing his children freedom to do what makes them feel comfortable. Remus Morai’s younger brother, Roman, is quoted as saying ‘Ree wouldn’t just leave, he had a reason and we’ll all stand by what he wants.’”

~~

“Thomas.”

Thomas felt a small hand patting his cheek. 

“Thomas, wake up.” 

He rolled over to escape the insistent patting. 

“THOMAS!” 

A heavy weight landed on his stomach, causing him to shoot up and investigate. Otto’s eyes gleamed at him in the low light, and he sighed. “Otto, what are you doing at-“ he checked the  
time on his phone. “Three AM?”

“Can I have your phone?”

“Wha?”

“I wanna call my dad.”

Thomas handed the boy his phone on autopilot, watching as he typed a number in carefully and hit the green call button. 

The phone only two times before it was picked up.

“Morai residence. I hope you have a good reason for calling so early in the morning, and I hope you don’t mind that I haven’t had my coffee yet.”

“Dad.” 

“Ree? Sweetie, ‘s that you?”

Thomas noted that the voice on the other end sounded much more awake. 

“’M sorry, daddy. I ran away.”

“Baby, it’s ok. Are you safe? Can you tell me where you are? Can you tell me why you ran away?”

Otto looked up at Thomas, a guilty glint in his eye. “Ran away because Mitchell said- Mitchell said if I hurt Roman again, you’n Uncle Lo would send me back to the orphanage for being a bad kid. And I broke Ro’s sword.”

“Oh, honey” cooed the voice. “Honey, we would _never_ send you back. You’re part of the family, Ree, and that’s not going to change, no matter how many fights you have with your brother. Where are you, baby?”

“With Thomas.”

“Okay, and where is Thomas?”

“Onna farm. They let me feed the chickens, daddy. Didju know chickens eat bugs?”

A sigh from over the line. “Yes, baby, I knew.”

“Daddy, I like goats. Can we get a goat?”

“Baby, we live in an apartment. There’s no room for a goat.”

“Can we move to a farm? Thomas and Dee have plenty of room!”

Thomas felt it was prudent to take over the call. “Hello, Mister Morai? We found your son in the woods behind our house a few days ago, and I believe he’s been deliberately distracting us from contacting the authorities.”

“That’s Remus, for you, he’s a wild one. You must be Thomas?”

“Thomas Sanders, yes. Remus has been staying with my brother, my nephew, and I. We would be happy to bring him back to you.”

A laugh from the other end. “Oh, don’t go through the trouble. I’ve got a few days off and I can come pick the little rascal up. I’m sorry he’s been a burden.” 

“Not at all, Mr. Morai. It’s been nice to have an extra pair of hands around.”

“Dad! Dad! Can I stay? Dad! It’s fun here! Lots of room to run and mud puddles to play in!”

Thomas flinched as Ott-Remus yelled in his ear.

“We’ll talk about it when I come down there, Ree, now go get some sleep. I love you!”

“Love you, dad. Tell Ro he’s a poopyhead.”

Remus grabbed the phone back from Thomas and hung up. “Can I stay, Thomas?”

“Go to bed, Ree.”

**Author's Note:**

> Don't judge me.
> 
> I set up a Discord server! <https://discord.gg/gtWgvQ4>  
Join me to talk about my writing and stuff!
> 
> Find more on tumblr @we-are-fam-ily


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